This is Florentine street food par excellence. But watch out, it’s not for weak stomachs. Actually, it’s a cow’s fourth stomach, known as the ’abomaso’, cooked in a herb broth and most commonly served in a panino soaked in the broth or topped with the local parsley-based green sauce. Historically a poor man’s dish, it is still very popular in Florence today thanks to the numerous open-air kiosks known as “lampredottai”, doing a roaring trade with Florentines as well as tourists who can’t wait to try this speciality, accompanied by the obligatory glass of wine.

This simple focaccia baked in a wood oven and dressed with olive oil and salt is a great favourite with Florentines, who eat it on its own or stuffed with salumi and cheeses, either as a quick lunch or substantial snack. Again, like many traditional Florentine recipes, it is based on a horror of wasting any leftover bread dough. In Florence, you’ll find it at any baker’s, but of course, everyone has their own preference: soft and well oiled, crisp and salty, or made with ancient grains. Just try it to decide which is your favourite!

Legend says that Florentine were the first to invent what we now know as ‘gelato’, a soft meld of minced ice and sugary flavours created by engineer Bernardo Buontalenti for Cosimo I de’ Medici. The Buontalenti, indeed, is now a traditional ice-cream flavour in Florence: made only with the use of full-cream milk, fresh cream, eggs and sugar it can be savoured both in a small cup or on an ice cream cone. Florentine love enjoying a gelato as an invigorating snack to be eaten on the go, or to refresh their mouth after a rich lunch.